Newington

Mill Pond Falls

Bettina Hansen / Hartford Courant

Bettina Hansen / Hartford Courant

Hartford's neighbor to the south, Newington went through several names, including West Farms and Pipestave Swamp, before officially becoming Newington in 1871. Newington is home to many big box retailers, restaurants and the Connecticut Department of Transportation headquarters. Newington also offers the Old Cedar Mountain Highway Trail, a trail that leads to the "outlook," a scenic stop with a breathtaking view from Cedar Mountain. UFO buffs might want to make the trek as there were published reports of UFO sightings there in 1965 and 1966. Mill Pond Park is a public park that is the site of Mill Pond Falls, the smallest natural waterfall in the U.S. The falls are the inspiration for the annual Waterfall Festival. The Kellog-Eddy House, Enoch Kelsey House and the Deming-Young Farm are three historic properties along with the Willard Homestead. Dedicated in 1995 for the more than 6,800 Americans killed in the World War II battle, the National Iwo Jima Memorial is located on the Newington and New Britain line. Newington's top employers include the Connecticut Department of Transportation, Keeney Manufacturing and the Newington Veterans Hospital.

CharacteristicBordering Hartford, Newington is a busy, residential suburb that houses a large portion of the Berlin Turnpike, an 11-mile road marked by an abundance of hotels, retailers and restaurants.

Fun FactWildlife photographer John Pezzenti, whose images appeared in National Geographic, Reader's Digest and hung in the Oval Office during the Ronald Reagan administration, was born in Newington. Sadly, Pezzenti was the victim of an unsolved murder and his case has been profiled twice on "America's Most Wanted."